When observing a comet please try to forget how bright you think the comet
should be, what it was when you last viewed it, what other observers think
it is or what the ephemeris says it should be.

The equations for the light curves of comets that are currently visible
use only the raw observations and should give a reasonable prediction for
the current brightness. If the comet has not yet been observed or has
gone from view a correction for aperture is included, so that telescopic
observers should expect the comet to be fainter than given by the equation.
The correction is about 0.033 per centimetre. Values for the r parameter
given in square brackets [ ] are assumed. The form of the light curve is
either the standard m = H0 + 5 log d + K0 log r or the linear brightening
m = H0 + 5 log d + L0 abs(t - T + D0) where T is the date of perihelion,
t the present and D0 an offset, if L0 is +ve the comet brightens towards
perihelion and if D0 is +ve the comet is brightest prior to perihelion.

Observations of new comets are given in ICQ format. More
recent ones may be available in TA format from the main page.

Full details of recently discovered objects will not appear until they are
available on the CBAT web pages, which is usually a fortnight after the
publication of the IAUC.

K. Battams has suggested the identity of the Marsden-group comet
C/2007 Y4 with C/2002 R4 (cf. MPEC 2002-S35). The following linkage (all
the observations having been made with the C2 coronagraph), by Marsden,
yields for the previous perihelion passage T = 1997 May 15.2 and
an approach within 0.063 AU of the earth on 1997 June 14.7.
[MPEC 2008-B49, 2008 January 25]

Karl Battams has put together a probable
family tree for the fragments.

Following recovery in 2007 the orbit was refined to give perihelion distance at
1.06 AU on 2007 September 1.7 and a period of 5.85 years. It can pass 0.07 AU
from the Earth and 0.1 AU from Jupiter.

2007 A1 (184P/Lovas)
Comet 1986 W1 (P/Lovas) was accidentally discovered on Catalina Sky Survey
images taken with the 0.68-m Schmidt telescope on January 9.07 by R. A. Kowalski.
Confirming images were taken with the Mt. Lemmon 1.5-m reflector and also
following posting on the NEOCP. The indicated correction to the prediction
by S. Nakano in the 2006 Comet Handbook (and in The Comet's Tale) is Delta(T) = +18.6 days.
2007 A2 (P/Christensen)
Eric Christensen discovered a 19th magnitude comet during the Mount Lemmon Survey
on January 10.41. Following the IAUC announcement it was linked to asteroid
2006 WY182. It has an elliptical orbit with period of 16 years and was near perihelion
at 2.8 AU.
2007 A3 (185P/Petriew)
The recovery of 2001 Q2 (P/Petriew) was announced in the IAUC on January 14,
although details of the recovery by Filip Fratev had been posted on the comets
mailing list on January 12. The comet was 16th magnitude at recovery, with an
indicated correction of Delta(T) = -0.04 day to the predictions on MPC 51822 (
and in The Comet's Tale).
2007 A7 (SOHO)(IAUC )
This was a non-group comet discovered in C2 images by Luciano Cane on
2007 January 10.
2007 B1 (P/Christensen)
Eric Christensen discovered a 19th magnitude comet during the Catalina Sky Survey
on January 17.27. Following posting on the NEOCP it was confirmed by several
observers including Giovanni Sostero. It has an elliptical orbit with period of 14
years and was near perihelion at 2.4 AU at discovery.
2007 B2 (Skiff)
Brian Skiff discovered an 18th magnitude comet with the LONEOS 0.59-m Schmidt
on January 23.39. The preliminary orbit gives perihelion at 2.7 AU in 2008
October. The comet could reach 13th magnitude around the time of perihelion.
An improved orbit by Hirohisa Sato gives a slightly more distant perihelion
at 3.0 AU in 2008 August.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-V49 [2007 November 6] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.001709
and +0.001792 (+/- 0.000005) AU^-1, respectively.

The large "original" value suggests that this comet has made a previous
visit to the inner solar system.
2007 B3 (186P/Garradd)
Gordon Garradd discovered an 18th magnitude comet on images taken for the
Siding Spring Survey with the 0.5-m Uppsala Schmidt on January 25.70. The
preliminary orbit suggested that the comet was at perihelion at 4.0 AU in
2006 March, however the latest elliptical orbit gives perihelion at 4.3 AU
in 2008 March and a period of 11 years.

Maik Meyer found some prediscovery observations in archive imagery from 1996
and 1975, which should lead to numbering of the comet.

I managed to find this comet in three DSS images after playing around with orbits
and finding the anchor point with the 1996 images. It should be visible in a plate
of 1995, but was not seen. Also I could not find it in some NEAT images.
In the 1975 images the comet is quite bright, probably due to the slow motion.
The appearance is almost the same in the two different plates, although at a
different position. I have taken the position of the center of the short trail.
The 1996 image is involved with a star. Here I could only measure the end of
the trail.

Hirohisa Sato has computed a new orbit linking the apparitions. Subsequently
to Maik's identification, Gareth Williams identified a comet, reported by Russell
Eberst in 1978 from UK Schmidt plates taken at Siding Spring in 1977 and designated
as 1977 O1 as being the same comet. With observations at three returns the comet
is now likely to be numbered 186P. The brightness of the object does seem rather
more variable than expected for such a distant object, so it may be subject
to occasional outbursts, much as 29P/Schwassmann-Wachman.

Seiichi Yoshida notes that:

The perihelion distance is large at 4.3 A.U., and the orbit is almost
circular with an eccentricity of 0.12. Kenji Muraoka's calculation
revealed that this orbit does not change significantly for 200 years
in the 20th and 21st centuries.

It reaches 17.5 mag at best based on the brightness at the discovery
in 2007 January. The brightness in 1996 February was similar,
however, the comet was unexpectedly bright at 15.5 mag in 1975
May and June. It seems to have been a temporary outburst, as
the comet returned to its normal brightness in 1977 July at 18 mag.

This comet is similar to 111P/Helin-Roman-Crockett; large perihelion
distance, almost circular orbit, and a record of unexpected
brightening in temporary outburst.

2007 C1 (P/Christensen)
Eric Christensen discovered a 19th magnitude comet with the 0.68-m Schmidt
during the Catalina Sky Survey
on February 9.28. Following posting on the NEOCP it was confirmed by Giovanni Sostero
and E Guido. The orbit given on the discovery IAUC & MPEC was parabolic, although
a suggestion was given that it might be elliptical. Further observations and
a calculation by Hirohisa Sato showed that it did have an elliptical orbit.
The latest orbit gives a period of 6.5
years, with perihelion at 2.1 AU in early March.
2007 C2 (P/Catalina)
A 19th magnitude asteroidal object discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey
on February 9.14 and posted on the NEOCP has been found to show cometary
characteristics by several observers including Giovanni Sostero
and E Guido. There are numerous prediscovery observations, the oldest by
the Catalina Sky Survey on 2006 October 19. The comet reaches perihelion in
early September at 3.8 AU and has a period of 19 years.
2007 C7 (SOHO)(IAUC )
This was a non-group comet discovered in C2 images by Hua Su on
2007 February 2.
2007 C12 (SOHO)(IAUC )
This was a non-group comet discovered in C2 images by Hua Su on
2007 February 8.
2007 D1 (LINEAR)
A 19th magnitude asteroidal object discovered by LINEAR on February 17.28 and
posted on the NEOCP has been shown to have a coma and tail. The orbit given on
the discovery IAUC & MPEC was a low inclination parabola, with the comet near
perihelion at 2.6 AU. It will fade. The next orbits to be issued were
dramatically different, and have a higher inclination and
perihelion at 8.8 AU in 2007 June. Calculations by Hirohisa Sato allow
the possibility of a hyperbolic orbit, which was confirmed by subsequent
orbits.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-W67 [2007 November 26] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.000054
and +0.000749 (+/- 0.000004) AU^-1, respectively.

The small "original" value suggests that this is a "new" comet from the
Oort cloud.
2007 D2 (Spacewatch)
A 20th magnitude object discovered by Spacewatch on February 17.46 and posted
on the NEOCP has been shown to have a coma and faint tail by other observers.
The comet is in a retrograde orbit and was at perihelion at 1.2 AU in
November 2006. It will fade.
2007 D3 (LINEAR)
A 19th magnitude asteroidal object discovered by LINEAR on February 20.09 and
posted on the NEOCP has been shown to have a coma and tail. The orbit given on
the discovery IAUC & MPEC shows it to be a distant object, and the latest orbit
gives perihelion at 5.2 AU in 2007 May.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-X37 [2007 December 7] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.001307
and +0.001402 (+/- 0.000009) AU^-1, respectively.

The large "original" value suggests that this comet has made a previous
visit to the inner solar system.
A/2007 DN41 [Mt Lemmon]
This unusual asteroid was discovered from Mt Lemmon with the 1.5m
reflector on February 23.45. It has a period of 5.4
years and perihelion was at
0.88 AU in late January 2007. [MPEC 2007-D64, 2007 February 23, 0.2-day orbit].
In the current orbit it can approach to around 0.2 AU of Jupiter and 0.002 AU of
the Earth.
This type of orbit is typical of Jupiter family
comets. The object is very small, with an absolute magnitude of 26.7. It was
found just after closest approach to the Earth, whilst at a distance of less than
0.02 AU.
A/2007 DA61 [Mt Lemmon]
This unusual asteroid was discovered from Mt Lemmon with the 1.5m
reflector on February 25.15. It has a period of 100
years, an orbital inclination of 75 degrees and is near perihelion at
2.6 AU. [MPEC 2007-D73, 2007 February 26, 1.5-day orbit]. There
have been no recent planetary approaches.
A/2007 DU112 [Spacewatch]
This unusual asteroid was discovered from the Steward Observatory on Kitt Peak with the 0.9m
Spacewatch telescope on February 23.47. It has a period of 260
years and was at perihelion at
9.0 AU in 2006 July. It has aphelion at 73 AU. [MPEC 2008-P59, 2008 August 12].

Gareth Williams notes on the MPEC that

2007 DU112 has a Saturn MOID of 0.30 AU. There were no encounters to
within 1 AU between 2007 DU112 and Saturn between 1700 and 2179.

2007 E1 (Garradd)
Gordon Garradd discovered an 15th magnitude comet on images taken for the
Siding Spring Survey with the 0.5-m Uppsala Schmidt on March 13.72. It
was confirmed by numerous CCD observers. The
comet reaches perihelion at 1.3 AU in late May, when it could
reach 13th magnitude. Visual observations in early April have made
it significantly brighter than this at up to 9th magnitude, with a
large, very diffuse coma. It is moving away from the Earth relatively quickly
and will fade.

Calculations by Hirohisa Sato showed that if it moved in a long period
elipse, the period must be greater than 200 years. The latest orbit
gives an eccentricity of 0.98 and a period of over 500 years.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-K74 [2007 May 31] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.015359
and +0.016098 (+/- 0.000087) AU^-1, respectively.

The large "original" value suggests that this comet has made a previous
visit to the inner solar system.

2007 E2 (Lovejoy)
Terry Lovejoy discovered a 10th magnitude comet on March 15.73, using
a Canon 350D DSLR with 200mm f2.8 lens. Sixteen 90s stacked images
showed the comet with strong central condensation and a green 4' coma.
Visual estimates put it slightly brighter. The comet was near perihelion
at 1.1 AU, but was approaching the Earth and brightened for another month,
perhaps reaching 7th magnitude in late April. It is now fading rapidly.
This was the first comet discovery with a DSLR.

Terry provided this information to the comet mail list:

I use 2 Digital SLR cameras to image the sky, and then process the
images using IRIS then examine them using the blink technique on a
computer monitor. After a very intense search effort in 2006 without
success (one near miss with 2006M4), I had wound back my efforts in
2007 (partly because of 2006P1 and partly because of fatigue!). March
15 was only the second time this year I had done any searches in the
morning sky. While downloading images from the camera on March 15 I
noticed a cometary object at the edge of 16 raw images centred at RA
20h57m DEC -51d 18m made between 17h22m and 17h46m UT. Normally, the
raw unprocessed images show only the brightest objects so I was very
suprised that this could be an undiscovered comet. At first I though
it was simply a bright deep sky object, but after processing the the
intense telltale green hue and generally morphology strongly
suggested comet. Additionally, when I blinked the processed images
it showed small but clear motion. Astrometry quickly revealed no
known object in that location. At this point I was very sure I had
something :)

The following day there was an agonising wait for cometrise (about
midnight from my location) and I notified a number of people for
followup observations. John Drummond being located further east had
the first opportunity to see the comet. Sure enough John phoned me
to confirm the existence of the comet around 11pm local time. Its
the first time I have spoken to John and what a way to introduce
yourself! Dan Green contacted me late on March 16 UT to advise me
that the comet had been announced, but as per standard procedure the
comet would not be named until an orbit was calculated and it was
determined the comet was not an existing named one.

All told I estimate I have examined about 1000 image fields since
late 2004, which would equate to about 1000 hours (it takes me 10
minutes to actually examine an image, but there are other time
consuming tasks like setup/development/identifying suspect objects,
etc). Unfortunately I don't keep records on time taken and images
examined.

Rob McNaught informs me that unusually cloudy weather has severly
hampered coverage of the Siding Springs survey. Additionally, I
also checked SWAN this morning and the last posted image is February
18. Moonlight problably explained why visual observers hadn't got to
the comet first.

2007 E3 (187P/LINEAR)
Eric Christensen recovered comet 1999 J5 (P/LINEAR) in images taken on March 9
during the course of the Mount Lemmon Survey, with additional images taken by
R A Kowalski on March 10. The indicated correction to the prediction on MPC 54170 is
Delta(T) = -0.8 day.
A/2007 EJ [Mt Lemmon]
This unusual asteroid was discovered from Mt Lemmon with the 1.5m
reflector on March 9.14. It has a period of 5.5
years and perihelion was at
0.94 AU in late January 2007. [MPEC 2007-E35, 2007 March 10, 0.9-day orbit].
In the current orbit it can approach to within 0.15 AU of Jupiter and 0.05 AU of
the Earth.
This type of orbit is typical of Jupiter family
comets.
A/2007 EP88 [Siding Spring]
This Aten asteroid was discovered from Siding Spring with the 0.5m
Uppsala Schmidt on March 15.52. It has a period of 0.7
years and perihelion was at
0.09 AU in mid December 2006. [MPEC 2007-F19, 2007 March 16, 1-day orbit].
In the current orbit it can approach to within 0.15 AU of
the Earth. It is estimated at 1.3km diameter.
2007 F1 (LONEOS)
A 19th magnitude asteroidal object discovered by LONEOS on March 19.26 with
the 0.59m Schmidt, and posted on the NEOCP has been shown to have cometary
characteristics by many observers including Peter Birtwhistle and Giovanni
Sostero et al. The latest orbit gives perihelion at 0.4 AU in late
October. The comet became a binocular
object around this time. It is however intrinsically quite faint, and
its exact magnitude curve remains to be seen.

Images by Michael Jaeger and Gerald Rehman on September 14 suggest that
it was around 11th magnitude, roughly a magnitude brighter than expected,
so it is highly likely to reach easy binocular visibility. Within a week
a few visual observations were suggesting that it might have brightened to
9.5. Only a few visual observations are available, and these give a
relatively faint absolute magnitude, so it may not survive perihelion.

Martin McKenna, observing from Northern Ireland on the evening of October 3
with a 22cm Dobsonian, estimated the comet at around 7.5, noting that it was
strongly condensed with a 3' coma. I observed it on October 15.77 with
20x80B, noting a strongly condensed coma and a total magnitude of 6.7.

After perihelion it faded fairly quickly and by mid November was 8th magnitude.
The observations are best fitted by a linear light curve, peaking before perihelion.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-K76 [2007 May 31] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.000679
and -0.000184 (+/- 0.000075) AU^-1, respectively.

The large "original" value suggests that this comet has made a previous
visit to the inner solar system.
Brian Marsden further notes on MPEC 2007-V97 [2007 November 13] that

A/2007 FD1 [Steward]
This sun-skirting asteroid was discovered from the Steward Observatory, Kitt Peak
with the 0.9m reflector on March 16.47. It has a period of 4.5
years, a highly eccentric orbit and perihelion was at
0.06 AU in late December 2006. [MPEC 2007-F34, 2007 March 19, 2-day orbit].
It would have been in the SOHO/STEREO coronagraph field between December
14 and 27, but if asteroidal would have been fainter than 12th magnitude.
In the current orbit it can approach to within 0.12 AU of
the Earth.
A/2007 FL1 [Catalina]
This unusual asteroid was discovered during the Catalina Sky Survey with the 0.7m
Schmidt on March 17.46. It has a period of 5.7
years and perihelion is at
1.15 AU in mid May 2007. [MPEC 2007-F41, 2007 March 19, 2-day orbit].
In the current orbit it can approach to within 0.2 AU of Jupiter and 0.13 AU of
the Earth.
This type of orbit is typical of Jupiter family
comets.
2007 G1 (LINEAR)
A 19th magnitude asteroidal object discovered by LINEAR on April 10.38 and
posted on the NEOCP has been shown to have a coma and tail by amateur observers
Giovanni Sostero & Ernesto Guido, Guido, A. Lepardo &
Sostero, Rolando Ligustri and Peter Birtwhistle.
The latest orbit gives perihelion at 2.6 AU
in mid November 2008. The comet will come within
visual range in March 2008, reaching 10th magnitude for southern hemisphere observers
near the time of perihelion and remain visible into 2009.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-K77 [2007 May 31] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.000167
and +0.000086 (+/- 0.000131) AU^-1, respectively.

The relatively large "original" value suggests that this comet has
probably made a previous visit to the inner solar system.

2007 H1 (P/McNaught)
Rob McNaught discovered a 16th magnitude comet on images taken for the
Siding Spring Survey with the 0.5-m Uppsala Schmidt on April 17.79. It
was confirmed by several amateur CCD observers. Further observations
showed that it has a period of 7.0 years. The
comet reaches perihelion at 2.3 AU in mid August, when it could
be a magnitude brighter, perhaps reaching 14th magnitude.
2007 H2 (Skiff)
Brian Skiff of the Lowell Observatory discovered an 18th magnitude
comet on CCD images taken by himself with the 0.59-m LONEOS Schmidt
telescope on April 19.26. It was confirmed by numerous CCD observers. The comet
passed perihelion at 1.4 AU in mid February.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-K15 [2007 May 18] that further
[astrometric] observations of this comet are very desirable.

2007 H3 (P/Garradd)
Gordon Garradd discovered a 17th magnitude comet on images taken for the
Siding Spring Survey with the 0.5-m Uppsala Schmidt on April 22.51. It
was confirmed by N. Teamo and Sebastian
Hoenig using a 0.41-m f/8 reflector at Punaauia, Tahiti. Prediscovery
images from March were found in Siding Spring observations. The
comet reaches perihelion at 1.8 AU in mid August, and has a period of
6.5 years.
2007 J7 (188P/LINEAR-Mueller)
Rob McNaught recovered comet P/1998 S1 with the 0.5-m Uppsala Schmidt at
Siding Spring on May 13 and Jim Scotti independently recovered it with
the Spacewatch 1.8-m f/2.7 reflector at Kitt Peak on June 26.5. The
indicated Delta(T) correction to the prediction on MPC 51824 is +0.03 day.

The comet was numbered following recovery.

2007 JA21 (LINEAR)
A rather unusual looking asteroidal orbit on MPEC 2007-J52 [2007
May 12] was followed within 24 hours by an IAUC giving a cometary
designation and a note that the MPEC was premature. The object,
discovered by LINEAR on May 11.30, was at perihelion at 5.4 AU in 2006 November
and moves in a near perpendicular orbit.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-O22 [2007 July 19] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.000104
and +0.000030 (+/- 0.000033) AU^-1, respectively.

The relatively large "original" value suggests that this comet may
have made a previous visit to the inner solar system.
2007 K1 (Lemmon)
A 20th magnitude asteroidal object discovered by the Mt Lemmon Survey on
May 18.44 with the 1.5m reflector, and posted on the NEOCP has been shown to have cometary
characteristics by many observers including Peter Birtwhistle and Giovanni
Sostero et al. It is a very distant object, not far from perihelion at 9.2 AU.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-O23 [2007 July 19] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.002530
and +0.002528 (+/- 0.000084) AU^-1, respectively.

The large "original" value suggests that this comet has
probably made a previous visit to the inner solar system.
2007 K2 (P/Gibbs)
Alex Gibbs discovered a 19th magnitude comet on Catalina Sky Survey images
taken with the 0.68m Schmidt on May 21.15. The comet was not far from perihelion
at 2.3 AU and has a period of about 19 years.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-N33 [2007 July 13] that further
[astrometric] observations of this comet are very desirable.

2007 K3 (Siding Spring)
An apparently asteroidal 19th magnitude object found by Gordon Garradd
during the course of the Siding Spring Survey with the 0.5m Uppsala Schmidt
on May 23.43 was found by Rob McNaught to show a coma a couple of nights later.
The comet reached perihelion at 2.05 AU in April 2008. It was predicted to reach 14th
magnitude around the time of perihelion, however no visual observations have
been reported to the BAA.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2008-P18 [2008 August 4] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.000724
and +0.000575 (+/- 0.000043) AU^-1, respectively.

The large "original" value suggests that this comet has
probably made a previous visit to the inner solar system.
2007 K4 (Gibbs)
Alex Gibbs discovered an 18th magnitude comet on Catalina Sky Survey images
taken with the 0.68m Schmidt on May 25.32. The comet was near perihelion
at 3.5 AU.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-O24 [2007 July 19] that further
[astrometric] observations of this comet are desirable.

2007 K5 (Lovejoy)
Terry Lovejoy discovered a 13th magnitude comet on May 26.34, using
a Canon 350D DSLR with 200mm f2.8 lens. Twelve 90s stacked images
showed the comet as circular, 1' across, with a clear blue-green color
but no tail. Hirohisa Sato calculated several preliminary orbits. The comet
was just past perihelion at around 1.1 AU, and it is in an orbit with a
period around 300 years.
Terry provides the following information on the discovery

This particular comet (designated C/2007K5) was found as a small
faint but still rather obvious blue-green haze in my images from the
evening of May 26. My initial estimate is mag 13, but I admit I have
not attempted more precise photometry and visually the comet could
well be brighter. Interestingly the discovery was made during a
bright waxing moon and in the evening sky where moderate light
pollution prevails. On the evening I had both cameras (a Canon 300D
+ Canon 350D) mounted the usual way with the 300D pointed towards -18
declination and the 350D pointed towards declination -11. This
allows me to image 13 degree wide sweep of sky from west to east.
Some 12 individual starfields were covered with both cameras, with 12
subexposures of 90 seconds for each starfield.

The following day, I downloaded the images from my 300D and ran them
through the usual automated processing steps (IRIS is used for this).
This processing step outputs 2 images per starfield effectively
separated by 10 minutes so that moving objects like comets can be
identified. By 'blinking' the 2 images one can see objects like
asteroids and comets bobbing backwards and forwards. On examining
the first image I almost immediately noticed a moving small hazy
object with a distinctive blue green colour typical of many comets.
I knew I had something for sure, and notified a number of other for
confirmation of a possible comet.

Confirmation came on May 28 when both John Drummond and I made
followup observations, which were then sent to Dan Green at CBAT.
Further followup was obtained on May 29 by Rob McNaught before an
official circular (IAUC 8840) announced the new comet as C/2007 K5.
Interesting, C/2007 K5 required less than 20 hours of actual
searching in contrast to the estimated 1400 hours for C/2007 E2.

The comet itself appears to be quite faint, and will problably remain
that way, but a comet none-the-less. Further astrometry is require
to calculate an orbit and once this is done the comet will be named.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-O25 [2007 July 19] that further
[astrometric] observations of this comet are desirable.

2007 K6 (McNaught)
Rob McNaught discovered an 18th magnitude comet on images taken for the
Siding Spring Survey with the 0.5-m Uppsala Schmidt on May 27.80. The
comet reached perihelion at 3.4 AU in early July.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-P28 [2007 August 10] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.005141
and +0.005184 (+/- 0.000073) AU^-1, respectively.

The large "original" value suggests that this comet has
probably made a previous visit to the inner solar system.
2007 M1 (McNaught)
Rob McNaught discovered a 19th magnitude comet on images taken for the
Siding Spring Survey with the 0.5-m Uppsala Schmidt on June 16.71. The
comet reaches perihelion at 7.5 AU in 2008 August. Hirohisa Sato notes
that the orbit may be a long period ellipse.

Rob notes

This object resulted from southerly winds forcing me to survey in the
north, looking in a small area unsurveyed in the last month! Every
one is pleasing, but I'm not going to lose sight of the fact that this
is a team effort using some great software (in recent years largely down
to Ed Beshore and Eric Christensen). Steve Larson's group, as with some
others, have all been enthusuiasts, committed to the project and
discovery. Thus the naming policy adopted within the group; the
observer/discoverer gets a personal credit in the naming. Having a
survey name by default would certainly take much of the shine off the
discovery process for me, and I think for most people it is both an
incentive and a motivation.

Our current funding will go thru to the end of 2008, but after that
there is no guarantee of funding for the project in general or the
Uppsala telescope. Any possible new project might involve a different
telescope, different location, different people and different naming
policy. Still, I've had a great innings and a few more before the end
of next year would be most pleasing!

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-Q24 [2007 August 26] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.000352
and +0.000381 (+/- 0.000205) AU^-1, respectively.

The large "original" value suggests that this comet has
probably made a previous visit to the inner solar system.
2007 M2 (Catalina)
A 20th magnitude asteroidal object discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey
on June 20.19 and posted on the NEOCP has been found to show cometary
characteristics. The comet reaches perihelion in
2008 December at 3.5 AU.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-W68 [2007 November 26] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.000603
and +0.000979 (+/- 0.000036) AU^-1, respectively.

The large "original" value suggests that this comet has
probably made a previous visit to the inner solar system.
2007 M3 (LINEAR)
A 17th magnitude asteroidal object discovered by LINEAR
on June 21.31 and posted on the NEOCP has been found to show cometary
characteristics. The comet reaches perihelion in
2007 September at 3.5 AU.

Orbit computations by Hirohisa Sato suggested a long period ellipse
with a period of around 1000 years and this was confirmed by
further observations.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-Q25 [2007 August 26] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.006249
and +0.006082 (+/- 0.000047) AU^-1, respectively.

2007 M5 (SOHO)(IAUC )
This was a non-group comet discovered in C2 images by Bo Zhou on
2007 June 25. It has an unusually small perihelion distance of
0.0011 AU. If the orbit is correct this means that it would have hit the sun.
2007 M8 (SOHO)(IAUC )
This was a non-group comet discovered in C2 images by Hua Su on
2007 June 25.
2007 N1 (191P/McNaught)
Rob McNaught discovered an 18th magnitude comet on images taken for the
Siding Spring Survey with the 0.5-m Uppsala Schmidt on July 10.73. The
comet reaches perihelion at 2.0 AU in 2007 September and has a period
of around 6.6 years.

Images from August and November 2000 were found in archival LONEOS and NEAT
observations by Syuichi Nakano in early September and it was given the designation 2000 P3
for this return. Following publication of the identification on MPEC 2007-R04
further images from September and December 2000 were found in the NEAT archives
by Maik Meyer and Reinder Bouma.

2007 N2 (189P/NEAT)
Comet 2002 O5 (P/NEAT) was recovered serendipitously by LINEAR in
New Mexico in astrometry from July 15.23 and following accidental
posting on the NEOCP was confirmed by G. Lombardi and E. Pettarin
at Farra d'Isonzo, Italy and F. Fratev and E. Mihaylova at Plana, Bulgaria.
It was around 16th magnitude. The correction to the predictions on MPC 51823
is Delta(T) = -0.36 day.
2007 N3 (Lulin)
An apparently asteroidal object of 19th magnitude, discovered by Quanzhi Ye, a
student at Sun Yat-sen University (Guangzhou, China), on images
acquired by Chi Sheng Lin (Institute of Astronomy, National Central
University, Jung-Li, Taiwan) with the 0.41-m f/8.8 Ritchey-Chretien
reflector in the course of the Lulin Sky Survey, was found to show marginal
cometary appearance in CCD images taken by J. Young with the Table
Mountain 0.61-m reflector. The retrograde orbit gives perihelion
at 1.2 AU on 2009 January 10.

Quanzhi Ye has also discovered a number of SOHO comets. This is the
first discovery of a comet from Taiwan and the observatory is a non-
professional one. The Lulin Sky Survey
is a co-operative project between China and Taiwan.

The comet emerged from conjunction for near equatorial observers around December 15 and rapidly moved into
the morning sky. By Christmas it was visible to observers between 50 N and 40 S. The comet became visible to UK
observers in early 2009, and was a naked eye object in 2009 February. It
will remain visible until early May.

The comet passed through the SOHO C3 field between November 17 and December 4. It should have been around 7th magnitude to visual observers, but was clearly fainter
than this. However Michael Mattiazzo did locate the 9th magnitude nuclear condensation in C3 images from December 1. On observation by
Juan Jose Gonzalez Suarez on December 21.3 made it 7.6 in 25x100B, rather fainter than expected from the pre conjunction light curve.

Michael Mattiazzo points out:

We are observing comet 2007 N3 (Lulin) "edge-on".
The orbital inclination of the comet is 178
degrees. i.e. virtually in the same orbital plane as the Earth.
This means from Earth's perspective, we will observe the comet edge-on
throughout the apparition!
The effect of this is to enhance the surface brightness of the comet and its
dust tail.
Take the deep sky example of an edge-on galaxy being more readily observable
than one that is face-on.

Recently posted images are displaying the sharp sunward pointing dust tail
(antitail) in PA 100, along with the ion tail at PA 280.
The dust tail should remain at approximately PA 100 to 110 and appear as a
sharply defined "needle-like" appendage.
Since most of the dust particles are released in the comets wake, the dust
tail will rapidly lengthen after Lulin's flyby of the Earth on Feb 24,
length uncertain but perhaps a few degrees long.
The ion tail however will appear considerably shortened, since it will be
pointing directly away from the Sun when the comet is located at opposition
on Feb 26.

Peter Bus notes:

In the period 2009 February 24 - March 4, C/2007 N3 (Lulin) reaches a near
backward scattering geometry (phase angle < 10 degrees, with a minimum
of 0.1 degrees (!) on Feb. 26.3).
Using a linear phase coefficient of beta = 0.02, a maximum brightening
of about 0.6 magnitudes on Feb. 26 is possible.
In a moonless dark sky, there are good opportunities for photometric
measurements.
The so-called opposition effect, mainly observed between scatter angle
173 and 180 degrees at moon and asteroids, is unlikely.

The comet showed a spectacular anti-tail prior to opposition, and brightened to
around 4.5. Since opposition it has faded quite rapidly and will continue to do so.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2008-E12 [2008 March 3] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.000019
and +0.000813 (+/- 0.000008) AU^-1, respectively.

The large "original" value suggests that this comet has
probably made a previous visit to the inner solar system.

2007 O1 (LINEAR)
A 17th magnitude asteroidal object discovered by LINEAR
on July 17.23 and posted on the NEOCP has been found to show cometary
characteristics by several groups including the Remanzacco and several
other Italian groups, and by Peter Birtwistle in the UK. The comet is
just past perihelion at 2.9 AU.
2007 O2 (190P/Mueller)
Comet 1998 U2 was recovered by L. Buzzi and F. Luppi, Varese, Italy
on 2007 July 26 on CCD images obtained with a 0.60-m reflector. Peter
Birtwhistle made confirming CCD observations on July 27. The indicated
correction to the predictions on MPC 51823 is Delta(T) = +0.3 day.
2007 P1 (McNaught)
Rob McNaught discovered a 19th magnitude comet on images taken for the
Siding Spring Survey with the 0.5-m Uppsala Schmidt on August 7.72. The
initial orbit suggests that the comet was at perihelion at 0.6 AU in
March this year. At this time it would have been around 11th magnitude,
but poorly placed for visual observation. It might however have been visible
in the SOHO SWAN images. This is the 50th comet discovered from Siding Spring.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-Q20 [2007 August 24] that further
[astrometric] observations of this comet are very desirable.

A/2007 PA8 [LINEAR]
This unusual asteroid was discovered by LINEAR with the 1.0m
reflector on August 9.21. It has a period of 5.2
years and perihelion is at
0.88 AU at the end of February 2008. [MPEC 2007-P35, 2007 August 11, 2-day orbit].
In the current orbit it can approach to within 0.25 AU of Jupiter and 0.01 AU of
the Earth.
This type of orbit is typical of Jupiter family
comets.
2007 Q1 (Garradd)
Gordon Garradd discovered a 19th magnitude comet on images taken for the
Siding Spring Survey with the 0.5-m Uppsala Schmidt on August 21.65. The
preliminary orbit suggests that the comet was at perihelion at 3.0 AU in
2006 December.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-S20 [2007 September 19] that further
[astrometric] observations of this comet are very desirable.

2007 Q2 (P/Gilmore)
An apparently asteroidal object, found by Alan Gilmore on CCD images taken with
the Mount John University Observatory 1-m reflector on August 22.58, has been
shown to have a coma and tail after posting on the NEOCP. The comet was near
perihelion at 1.8 AU and has an elliptical orbit with period around 13 years.

Rodney Austin commments on the comet mailing list:

As a little bit of an aside to this discovery. This is second
official discovery of a comet from Mt John, not counting the independent
discovery by Alan Thomas of Comet Barbon in 1966; (a miscommunication
between Mt John and the Carter Observatory in Wellington saw Alan miss out
on getting co-credit).

The first official discovery was by Mike Clark (P/Clark) in 1973. At that
time I was working at Mt John myself, and was off duty that evening -
comethunting (!) only about 100 metres away from the building where Mike was
busy taking plates for the Bamburg Observatory patrol. He found the comet on
inspecting his plates the following day. He started looking VERY closely at
his plates after just missing the discovery of the SN in NGC 5253 the
previous year.

I have been in touch with Alan Gilmore who says that he was as surprised as
everyone else over this one.

2007 Q3 (Siding Spring)
An apparently asteroidal object discovered by Donna Burton
with the 0.5-m Uppsala Schmidt telescope in the course of the
Siding Spring survey on August 25.76, has been shown to have a cometary
appearance after posting on the 'NEOCP' webpage. The comet
was at perihelion at 2.3 AU in October 2009. It
reached 9th magnitude around the time of perihelion, and is
visible to northern hemisphere observers, although a morning object. At discovery
it was over 7 AU from the Sun.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-U59 [2007 October 23] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.000309
and +0.000412 (+/- 0.000152) AU^-1, respectively.

The large "original" value suggests that this comet has
probably made a previous visit to the inner solar system.

2007 R1 (P/Larson)
Steve Larson discovered an 18th magnitude comet on September 4.37
in images taken during the Mt Lemmon survey with the 1.5m reflector.
The comet has a period of around 15 years and perihelion was at
4.4 AU in 2007 August.
2007 R2 (P/Gibbs)
A R Gibbs discovered an 18th magnitude comet on September 10.41
in images taken during the Catalina Sky Survey with the 0.68m Schmidt.
The cometary nature was confirmed following posting on the NEOCP. The comet
has a period of around 6.4 years and was just past perihelion at 1.5 AU.
2007 R3 (P/Gibbs)
Alex Gibbs discovered a 19th magnitude comet on September 14.29
in images taken during the Catalina Sky Survey with the 0.68m Schmidt.
The cometary nature was confirmed following posting on the NEOCP. The comet
has a period of around 8.9 years and was at perihelion at 2.5 AU in July.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-V52 [2007 November 6] that further
[astrometric] observations of this comet are desirable.

2007 R4 (P/Garradd)
Gordon Garradd discovered an 18th magnitude comet on images taken for the
Siding Spring Survey with the 0.5-m Uppsala Schmidt on September 14.61. The
cometary nature was confirmed following posting on the NEOCP. The comet
has a period of around 14 years and was near perihelion at 1.9 AU.
2007 R5 (P/SOHO)
A Kracht II group comet reported from SOHO C2 imagery by Bo Zhou on September 10.76 is the
return of the comet predicted by Sebastian Hoenig, confirming the identity 1999 R1 = 2003 R5.
The time of perihelion is September 11.3, in exact agreement with
the prediction. Following the precedent of comets 1P, 2P and 27P a
suggestion is that the comet should be re-named comet Hoenig. An alternative view is
that others have also suggested possible linkages between the SOHO comet groups, eg
Rainer Kracht, Brian Marsden and Maik Meyer and that deciding on who should get
precedence will be difficult. The comet should have been numbered 192, but was not.
A linked orbit for the three returns was published on MPEC 2007-S16,
in which Brian Marsden comments that:

The orbit is from C2 observations only. The current C3
observations increasingly deviate to more than 0.5 arcmin west and almost
1 arcmin north of the computed position by the end of the sequence.

This disagreement between C2 and C3 may have implications for the accuracy of
previously derived SOHO orbits.

One reason being given for the failure to number the object is that it may not be a comet, despite its
cometary designation. Demonstrating that the light curve is non-asteroidal may be one solution,
or clear evidence of a coma or tail would certainly confirm it.

According to the linked orbit by S. Nakano
the comet will approach Earth in 2035 at 0.27 AU, in 2038 at 0.19 AU and in 2043 at 0.30 AU.

A/2007 RV19 [LINEAR]
This unusual asteroid was discovered by LINEAR with the 1.0m
reflector on September14.12. It has a period of 5.9
years and perihelion was at
1.18 AU at the end of 2007 August. [MPEC 2007-R85, 2007 September 15, 1-day orbit].
In the current orbit it can approach to within 0.4 AU of Jupiter and 0.19 AU of
the Earth.
This type of orbit is typical of Jupiter family
comets, although it has shown no sign of cometary activity. It was recovered in 2013
August.
2007 S1 (P/Zhao)
Haibin Zhao at the Purple Mountain Observatory, discovered an 18th magnitude comet on CCD
images obtained with the 1.04-m f/1.8 Schmidt telescope at XuYi Station on
September 17.79. This was confirmed after posting on the NEOCP, and additional
prediscovery observations were found in LONEOS observations by Tim Spahr.
The comet has a period of about 7.4 years and reaches perihelion at 2.5 AU in
December.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-V52 [2007 November 6] that further
[astrometric] observations of this comet are desirable.

2007 S2 (Lemmon)
A 19th magnitude asteroidal object discovered by the Mt Lemmon Survey on
September 25.49 with the 1.5m reflector, and posted on the NEOCP has been shown to have cometary
characteristics by two observers, whilst others have provided astrometry.
The provisional orbit makes it a distant object near perihelion at 6.2 AU, however Brian
Marsden notes that it is probably of intermediate or short period.

Independent orbit computations by Hirohisa Sato and Kenji Muraoka suggest an
orbital period of around 60 years, with perihelion at 5.7 AU in summer 2008.
This was confirmed, with the latest orbit giving a period of around 44 years
and perihelion at 5.5 AU in September 2008.

2007 S11 (SOHO)(IAUC )
This was a non-group comet discovered in C2 images by Rainer Kracht on
2007 September 29.
2007 T1 (McNaught)
Rob McNaught discovered a 13th magnitude comet on images taken for the
Siding Spring Survey with the 0.5-m Uppsala Schmidt on October 9.42.
The comet reached perihelion at 1.0 AU in
December. The comet has emerged from solar conjunction and visual observers
estimated the comet at around
9th magnitude in early January. It was not well placed
for observation from the UK, although Peter Birtwistle was amongst those
reporting confirming observations of the discovery.

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.000627
and +0.000476 (+/- 0.000004) AU^-1, respectively.

The large "original" value suggests that this comet has
probably made a previous visit to the inner solar system.
2007 T2 (P/Kowalski)
Richard Kowalski discovered a 17th magnitude comet on October 9.51
in images taken during the Catalina Sky Survey with the 0.68m Schmidt.
The cometary nature was confirmed following posting on the NEOCP. The comet
has a period of around 5.4 years and was just past perihelion at 0.7 AU.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-Y06 [2007 December 17] that further
[astrometric] observations of this comet are desirable.

Dimitry Chestnov suggests

I think that P/2007 T2 (Kowalski) = D/1770 L1 (Lexell). They both have
almost the same orbital elements (at the observed epoches) and both orbits are
unstable. Tisserand parameters TJ of these comets are very close. I know that
some comets, that frequently approach Jupiter, tend to jump between two distinct
orbits several times.

As we know, D/1770 L1 (Lexell) was thrown out from its orbit by Jupiter in 1779
to a distant, even probably a hyperbolic, orbit (too high uncertainty for
quantitative estimate). In 2004, P/2007 T2 was injected by Jupiter from a
distant orbit to its present orbit, that resembles orbit of D/1770 L1.

Using EXORB software, I generated 1000 "Monte-Carlo" clones of P/2007 T2 and
went back in time in tens of years ago in SOLEX. Some of the clones came from
time to time to orbits similar to D/1770 L1.

Whilst Gary Kronk notes

K. Kinoshita's web site (http://jcometobs.web.fc2.com/pcmt/k07t2.htm)
indicates that P/2007 T2 passed 0.0195 AU from Jupiter on 2004 September
29 and that the orbital period was altered from 9.8 years to 5.4 years.
Prior to that date, there were no significant close encounters back to
the 1893 apparition (the earliest date the comet's orbit is integrated
to), when the period was about 9.2 years.

These details are important because of the examinations of the orbital
motion of D/1770 L1 (Lexell) after its last close encounter with Jupiter
(0.0015-0.0016 AU) in 1779. In 1976, E. I. Kazimirchak-Polonskaya and S.
D. Shaporev concluded that the comet was probably placed into an orbit
with a period of 260 years, although a much longer period was not out of
the question. In 2003, Kinoshita found that the comet was ejected into
an orbit with a period of about 200 years. Kinoshita also indicated the
perihelion distance was likely increased to 5.2 AU by the 1779
encounter. From both of these sets of calculations, it is probably safe
to say that comet Lexell would not have returned to the sun's vicinity
before 1984, if not much later.

2007 T3 (192P/Shoemaker-Levy)
Rob McNaught recovered comet P/1990 V1 (=1990o = 1990 XV) on October 12.45
as an 18th magnitude object with a small coma. The indicated correction
to the orbital elements on MPC 51824 is Delta(T) = +4.5 days. The comet
will only brighten a little and is clearly several magnitudes fainter
than at its discovery apparition.
Seiichi Yoshida notes:

Kazuo Kinoshita's calculations reveal that the orbital elements of
this comet have not changed much since 1939.

It was discovered about two months after the perihelion passage in
1990. That was probably because it had been located in the southern
sky until that time.

Maybe this comet tends to be brightest after perihelion
passage. If so, the comet may brighten rapidly after this, and
may reach 14.5 mag in February.

However, it was not discovered in September or October in 1990 when it
must have been observable and bright. So maybe a temporary outburst
occured in 1990 November.

2007 T4 (P/Gibbs)
Alex Gibbs discovered an 18th magnitude comet on Catalina Sky Survey images
taken with the 0.68m Schmidt on October 12.46. The comet passed perihelion
at 2.0 AU in July and will fade. It has a period of around 12 years.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2008-A27 [2008 January 7] that further
[astrometric] observations of this comet are desirable.

2007 T5 (Gibbs)
Alex Gibbs discovered another 18th magnitude comet the following night on October 13.46,
on Catalina Sky Survey images
taken with the 0.68m Schmidt. The comet reaches perihelion
at 4.0 AU in 2008 May and moves in a long period ellipse of about 300 years.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-Y07 [2007 December 17] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.021240
and +0.021733 (+/- 0.000001) AU^-1, respectively.

The large "original" value suggests that this comet has
made a previous visit to the inner solar system.
2007 T6 (P/Catalina)
An apparently asteroidal object of 18th magnitude, found with the 0.68m Schmidt
during the Catalina Sky Survey on October 13.47 and posted on the NEOCP was
found to show a coma and faint tail on images taken by J W Young with the Table
Mountain 0.61-m f/16 Cassegrain reflector. The comet was at perihelion at 2.2 AU
in August and has a period of around 9.5 years. The comet has also been identified
with asteroid 2007 TU149 by S Nakano.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-Y08 [2007 December 17] that further
[astrometric] observations of this comet are desirable.

2007 U1 (LINEAR)
A 19th magnitude asteroidal object discovered by LINEAR
on October 19.41 and posted on the NEOCP has been found to show cometary
characteristics by several observers including the Remanzacco group. The comet is
predicted to reach perihelion at 3.3 AU in 2008 August.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2008-P51 [2008 August 11] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.000168
and +0.000065 (+/- 0.000003) AU^-1, respectively.

The large "original" value suggests that this comet has
probably made a previous visit to the inner solar system.
2007 U2 (193P/LINEAR-NEAT)
Comet 2001 Q5 (P/LINEAR-NEAT) was recovered by K. Sarneczky and L. L. Kiss
with the 2.3-m reflector at Siding Spring on October 21.45. The indicated
correction to the prediction on MPC 54167 is Delta(T) = -0.5 day.
2007 V1 (P/Larson)
Steve Larson discovered a 17th magnitude comet on November 8.31
in images taken during the Catalina Sky Survey with the 0.68m Schmidt.
The comet has a period of around 11 years and perihelion is at
2.7 AU in 2007 December.
2007 V2 (P/Hill)
BAA Member, Rik Hill discovered a 19th magnitude comet on November 9.30
in images taken during the Mt Lemmon survey with the 1.5m reflector.
The comet has a period of around 8.2 years and perihelion was at
2.8 AU in 2007 July.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2007-X46 [2007 December 10] that further
[astrometric] observations of this comet are desirable.

2007 VQ11 (P/Catalina)
A slightly diffuse object found by Andrea Boattini on Catalina
images taken on 2008 February 1.1, was confirmed by J Young at
Table Mountain Observatory and then linked by Tim Spahr with
the object found by Catalina on November 3.42. This had been
designated following linkage with observations made from Purple
Mountain Observatory on November 6. The comet has a period of around
13 years and is near perihelion.
2007 VO53 (Spacewatch)
An unusual asteroid found at Mt Lemmon with the 1.5m
reflector on January 11 was posted on the NEOCP, and then identified by
Tim Spahr with an object discovered by Spacewatch on November 1.26. Several
other prediscovery observations were also identified, and further observations
with the Spacewatch 1.8-m telescope on January 13 showed a convincing coma. The
comet reaches perihelion at 4.8 AU in April 2010.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2008-Q26 [2008 August 25] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.000066
and +0.000093 (+/- 0.000007) AU^-1, respectively.

The small "original" value suggests that this comet has
probably not made a previous visit to the inner solar system.
2007 VA85 (333P/LINEAR)
This highly unusual asteroid was discovered by LINEAR with the 1.0m
reflector on November 4.09. It has a retrograde orbit with a period of 7.6
years and perihelion was at
1.09 au at the end of July. [MPEC 2007-V73, 2007 November 9, 5-day orbit].
In the current orbit it can approach to within 0.25 au of Jupiter and 0.14 au of
the Earth. The object has the shortest known retrograde orbit and showed
no sign of cometary activity at this return.
A/2007 VJ8 [Mt Lemmon]
This unusual asteroid was discovered from Mt Lemmon with the 1.5m
reflector on November 5.26. It has a period of 5.8
years and perihelion was at
1.12 AU in mid November. [MPEC 2007-V46, 2007 November 6, 1-day orbit].
In the current orbit it can approach to within 0.1 AU of Jupiter and 0.13 AU of
the Earth.
This type of orbit is typical of Jupiter family
comets.
A/2007 VA188 [LINEAR]
This unusual asteroid was discovered by LINEAR with the 1.0m
reflector on November 12.08. It has a period of 6.6
years and perihelion was at
1.10 AU at the end of October. [MPEC 2007-V112, 2007 November 14, 2-day orbit].
In the current orbit it can approach to within 0.25 AU of Jupiter and 0.14 AU of
the Earth. This type of orbit is typical of Jupiter family comets.
A/2007 VE189 [Mt Lemmon]
This unusual asteroid was discovered from Mt Lemmon with the 1.5m
reflector on November 11.49. It has a period of 6.2
years and perihelion is at
1.10 AU in late November. [MPEC 2007-V115, 2007 November 15, 3-day orbit].
In the current orbit it can approach to within 0.1 AU of Jupiter and 0.12 AU of
the Earth. This type of orbit is typical of Jupiter family comets.
A/2007 VW266 [Mt Lemmon]
This very unusual asteroid was discovered from Mt Lemmon with the 1.5m
reflector on November 12.38. It has a period of 12
years, moves in a retrograde orbit and perihelion is at
3.35 AU in 2008 August. [MPEC 2007-W59, 2007 November 19, 7-day orbit].
It can approach within 0.9 AU of Jupiter.
2007 W1 (Boattini)
Andrea Boattini discovered an 18th magnitude comet on November 20.48
in images taken during the Mt Lemmon survey with the 1.5m reflector.
The comet was at perihelion at 0.84 AU in late 2008 June.

Additional observations of the comet as asteroid 2007 WM63 were published
in 2010.

The comet brightened rapidly and came within general visual range in early
March 2008. It reached binocular visibility in late April,
but few UK observations were made as the comet was rather far south,
and very diffuse. Southern Hemisphere observers had a better view,
and were able to view it through perihelion. The brightening seemed to
slow down during May, with many observers reporting it at around 6th magnitude, for
example Alexandre Amorim reporting it at 5.9 in 10x50B on May 24.92. It
peaked at around 5th magnitude near the time of perihelion in late June.

It moved into view from the UK after perihelion and was imaged on
July 25 by Peter Carson, from Leigh on Sea, Essex.
It was visible as a weakly condensed binocular object in August. It had faded to around 10th
magnitude by early September and had become quite diffuse, but then went into a steep decline,
with CCD observations suggesting that it was 18th magnitude by late October.

Cedric Bemer points out the possibility of a meteor shower from the comet. The miss distance for the orbits is
0.0178 AU and the earth passed this point 27.5 days later. Maximum was likely on August 21.9 or 27.6, with a radiant of 168 -14.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2008-E10[2008 March 1] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are -0.000002
and +0.000631 (+/- 0.000012) AU^-1, respectively.

The small "original" value suggests that this comet has
is a "new" comet from the Oort cloud, and has not made
a previous visit to the inner solar system.

2007 W2 (194P/LINEAR)
Comet 2000 B3 (P/LINEAR) was recovered by L. Buzzi and F. Luppi
on CCD frames taken with a 0.60-m f/4.64 reflector at
Varese, Italy on November 17.07. The indicated
correction to the prediction on MPC 54167 is Delta(T) = +0.16 day.
2007 W3 (LINEAR)
A 20th magnitude asteroidal object discovered by LINEAR
on November 29.32 and posted on the NEOCP has been found to show cometary
characteristics by several observers including E. Guido and G. Sostero. The comet is
predicted to reach perihelion at 1.8 AU in 2008 June.

It is an intrinsically faint comet and may not get within visual range.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2008-B23 [2008 January 21] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.000146
and +0.000542 (+/- 0.000052) AU^-1, respectively.

The large "original" value suggests that this comet has
probably made a previous visit to the inner solar system.
A/2007 WW3 [Mt Lemmon]
This unusual asteroid was discovered from Mt Lemmon with the 1.5m
reflector on November 19.35. It has a period of 5.5
years and perihelion was at
1.09 AU in late October. [MPEC 2007-W32, 2007 November 19, 0.1-day orbit].
In the current orbit it can approach to within 0.4 AU of Jupiter and 0.10 AU of
the Earth. This type of orbit is typical of Jupiter family comets.
2007 X1 (SOHO)(IAUC )
This was a non-group comet discovered in C2 images by Masanori Uchina on
2007 December 3.
A/2007 XJ16 [Steward]
This unusual asteroid was discovered at the Steward Observatory, Kitt Peak
with the 0.9m reflector on December 5.38. It has a period of 5.6 years and
perihelion was at 1.04 AU in early August. [MPEC 2007-X50, 2007 December 10,
1-day orbit]. In the current orbit it can approach to within 0.5 AU of Jupiter
and 0.06 AU of the Earth. This type of orbit is typical of Jupiter family comets.
2007 Y1 (LINEAR)
A 19th magnitude asteroidal object discovered by LINEAR
on December 16.38 and posted on the NEOCP has been found to show cometary
characteristics by several observers. The comet
will reach perihelion at 3.3 AU in 2008 March.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2008-E13 [2008 March 3] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.000141
and +0.000391 (+/- 0.000071) AU^-1, respectively.

The "original" value suggests that this comet may have
made a previous visit to the inner solar system.
2007 Y2 (McNaught)
Rob McNaught discovered a 19th magnitude comet on images taken for the
Siding Spring Survey with the 0.5-m Uppsala Schmidt on December 31.67. The
comet will reach perihelion at 4.2 AU in 2008 April.

Brian Marsden notes on MPEC 2008-E14 [2008 March 3] that

The "original" and "future" barycentric values of 1/a are +0.001295
and +0.001272 (+/- 0.000063) AU^-1, respectively.

The large "original" value suggests that this comet has
probably made a previous visit to the inner solar system.
Ephemerides of current comets are available on the CBAT
ephemeris page and positions of newly discovered comets are on the
NEO confirmation page.
More information on LINEAR. A list of comets
discovered by selected search programs.
The Northumberland refractor
is the telescope that was used in the search for Neptune.
It now has a 0.30-m f20 doublet lens which gives a stellar limiting magnitude of around
15 at the zenith on good nights.
The Thorrowgood refractor was
built in 1864 and has a 0.20-m f14 doublet lens.
Published by Jonathan Shanklin. Jon Shanklin - jds@ast.cam.ac.uk